Genesis Butler
Genesis was just four years old when she decided to become vegan, six when she converted the rest of her family, and 10 when she delivered her powerful TED Talk on the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Inspired by her great uncle, civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, Genesis has spent almost all of her life campaigning for the Earth and its inhabitants, including spearheading the high-profile Million Dollar Vegan campaign to urge Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent.
Shreya Ghodawat
As a climate activist and sustainability podcaster, Shreya is a leader in environmental advocacy. Like many other activists on this list, her work encompasses multiple social justice issues, and among them, of course, is the food system. Her own journey began when she watched Cowspiracy and came to understand the impact of meat and dairy on the planet. She says that sustainability “has never been about compromise, sacrifice, or tokenism but a way of living that influences every choice we make and how we show up. It should be all-encompassing.”
Ellen Monielle
Ellen is a climate activist from Brazil who uses her platform on Instagram to advocate for an accessible, sustainable, affordable, anti-racist, plant-based food system. She says: “There’s a sense in Brazil that veganism is very expensive but I’m part of a movement called ‘Popular Veganism’. We aim to show that people can live in favelas and still be vegan, you can be poor and still be vegan. We see veganism as a political fight.”
Isaias Hernandez
Isaias is an environmental educator, working to bring more diversity into the environmental movement and to place justice for animals alongside other social justice movements. Through creativity and storytelling, he makes complex issues accessible and advocates for localized community action to protect our planet. He says: “veganism is an interconnected movement to liberate non-human animals and humans, this is why I do it, for all collective beings on the planet.” Check out his Instagram, Queer Brown Vegan.
Joseph Poore
Joseph was about to buy a house when he had a change of heart. Concerned about the planet and the lack of information available about how we can play a part in protecting it, he instead put his money into researching the environmental impacts of different foods. Today, based at the prestigious Oxford University, Joseph’s comprehensive data guides political policy and helps educate the public. He says he was about halfway into that research project when he already knew what he had to do: He needed to become vegan.
Mikaela Loach
Mikaela was inspired to write her book It’s Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World by her grandmother’s sadness that a beach in her homeland of Jamaica was disappearing due to climate change. Mikaela was already vegan, and already committed to practicing social justice and community actions. With her book, she strikes at the roots of the issue and asserts that tackling the climate crisis also requires us to address poverty, capitalist exploitation, police brutality, and legal injustice.
Maneka Gandhi
Maneka is an Indian politician, environmentalist, animal advocate and, of course, a vegan.
At the age of 33, Maneka was appointed Minister of the Environment and Forests, which allowed her to introduce key environmental legislations across the country. “Being vegan is not as much a food choice as a belief system,” she told The Times of India. “When you value life, you do not destroy it. I choose not to be part of any system that’s based on violence, greed and exploitation.”
Chris Packham
Television presenter and naturalist, Chris Packham is a household name in his native UK. A long-term vegetarian, it was the unlikeliest thing that tripped up his transition to veganism: he thought he would miss biscuits! But after a visit to a zero-grazing dairy unit to learn more about bovine tuberculosis, he was shocked at the conditions he saw. On his way home, he pulled over as soon as he could and called his partner, saying “That’s it, it’s over. It’s fully vegan now.” And, as it turns out, many biscuits are accidentally vegan anyway!
Greta Thunberg
Greta came to prominence as a teenager for refusing to attend school unless her government took action on climate change. Her vigil outside the Swedish parliament was reported all around the world, making her the world’s most high-profile activist and a powerhouse of an inspiration. Since then, Greta has addressed world leaders at many conferences, fearlessly speaking truth to power, and launched a global movement Fridays for Future, where pupils protest once a week instead of attending classes. Greta has been vegan since the age of 10.
Shivya Nath
Shivya is a nomadic travel writer, advocating for slow and sustainable travel. She is also a humanitarian, an environmentalist and a vegan. Shivya sold her home and gave up her corporate job to travel the world, connect with people, and tell stories that unite and inspire. An experience on a bus in Nicaragua started her thinking about eggs and how they are produced, and that led her inevitably to understanding more about the impacts of the food system. She became vegan for animals, and lowering her carbon footprint was a bonus!
Kip Andersen
Kip’s interest in the environment began when watching the film An Inconvenient Truth, which detailed Al Gore’s work on global warming. Kip was inspired not only to change his own life, but to make films of his own, and—as he learned about the significant impact of animal agriculture and meat consumption on the planet—he too became vegan. His film Cowspiracy became an international phenomenon and has inspired a generation of environmentalists to switch to a plant-based diet.
Lewis Hamilton
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is one of the world’s most high-profile vegans. It was his concern for the environment that inspired him to eat plant-based but as an animal-lover and a sportsman, the ethical and health benefits were important to him, too. Today, his dog Roscoe is also vegan and Lewis uses his global platform to encourage others to take action. “Go vegan,” he urges his followers, “ it is the only way to save our planet today.”
Leilani Münter
Like Lewis Hamilton, Leilani was a racing car driver, and she remains a dedicated environmentalist and vegan. She advocates for renewable energy, solar power, electric cars, a plant-based food system, and animal rights. She sits on the board of Oceanic Preservation Society, an Academy Award-winning team of filmmakers using high-impact documentary films to expose the most critical issues facing our planet, and she is also a Veganuary Ambassador.
Ali Tabrizi
Filmmaker Ali Tabrizi is the director of Netflix sensation Seaspiracy, a film that exposes the horrors and environmental catastrophes associated with the fishing industry. It was a film that inspired countless others to reconsider their food choices and take positive steps to minimize their impact on the planet. Today, alongside making movies, Ali is a speaker on conservation, sustainability, our food system, and both human and animal rights. Watch out for his next movie, Ocean on Fire.
Damien Mander
Damian was a lifelong hunter who served as a navy clearance diver and special operations sniper in the forces. After several missions in Iraq, he never hunted again, saying he finally knew what it felt like to be hunted. In Africa, he met rangers working on the front line to protect wild animals like elephants and rhinos from poachers and he was deeply affected by the work they did. He founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and decided if he was going to protect animals, he could not keep eating them. He became vegan.
Paul de Gelder
Military veteran Paul de Gelder was an army paratrooper and navy bomb disposal diver before an encounter with a 9ft bull shark changed everything, including his views on marine life conservation, and his thoughts on eating animals. He began advocating for conservation of the oceans and soon realized that eating animals was not compatible with protecting them. He knew he had to change because, he told us, “I really really hate hypocrites”. Today, he remains a passionate advocate for the oceans and their inhabitants. ‘People want to stop using straws to save the fish,’ he says. “How about you just stop eating fish to save the fish?”
Katie Rood
Katie is a New Zealand international footballer, who uses her platform to encourage others to take an active interest in the planet and its protection. Having been vegan for 10 years to help reduce her climate impact, she hopes to inspire others to be more conscious of the power of their own decisions, too. “For me, giving up meat and dairy really wasn’t that difficult,” she says. “I’ve always felt a deep connection with nature, and knowing how badly those industries affect it, it was a no-brainer.”
Woody Harrelson
Lifelong environmentalist and celebrated actor, Woody Harrelson, certainly acts on his principles. He has been arrested more than once for his activism, including after climbing the Golden Gate Bridge to protest the logging of the ancient redwoods. And yet, he writes, “‘[t]he relationship between industry, bankers, and the prostitutes we call politicians only gets cozier.” Today, his cynicism has turned to hope as he promotes truly regenerative agriculture and a plant-based food system. Check out Kiss the Ground.
